The “Suisse Secrets and techniques” information leak claiming to disclose how Credit score Suisse dealt with billions of {dollars} in soiled cash has renewed strain on Switzerland’s monetary sector, which has spent years making an attempt to scrub up its picture.
Switzerland’s second largest financial institution was rocked Sunday by an unlimited investigation by dozens of media organisations into leaked information they mentioned confirmed Credit score Suisse held greater than $8 billion in accounts of criminals, dictators and rights abusers.
It burdened in a press release that most of the points raised within the probe have been historic, some courting again greater than 70 years, and that 90 p.c of the accounts in query had been closed.
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The investigation was solely the most recent blow to the scandal-plagued financial institution, which was rocked final 12 months by the implosions of monetary corporations Greensill and Archegos.
Nevertheless it might additionally hit Switzerland’s highly effective monetary sector as an entire, which for years has strived to enhance its picture on the worldwide stage.
Following the Suisse Secrets and techniques investigation, the European Folks’s Social gathering (EPP) — the biggest political group within the European Parliament — mentioned the findings “level to large shortcomings of Swiss banks in terms of the prevention of cash laundering.
Switzerland buckled to worldwide strain practically a decade in the past to start weaning its highly effective monetary sector off the banking secrecy legal guidelines that had made it so engaging to the extremely rich around the globe.
“Efforts within the battle towards cash laundering have been constantly boosted and strengthened in recent times,” the Swiss Bankers Affiliation informed AFP in an e mail.
– ‘Judicial threat’ –
A report printed final October by the Swiss finance ministry discovered that banks had reported 4 occasions extra suspected circumstances of cash laundering to authorities between 2015 and 2019 than through the previous decade.
However whereas Switzerland’s secrecy legal guidelines have largely been dismantled for the banks, they’ve been tightened for the media, making it an offence to disclose leaked banking data.
So whereas 48 media firms from around the globe participated within the Suisse Secrets and techniques investigation, no Swiss information media took half as a result of threat of legal prosecution.
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